Expanded child tax credit reduced child poverty, so Congress must renew it

Parents and their children rally at the U.S. Capitol in December 2021 to urge an extension of the expanded Child Tax Credit, which expired on Jan. 15. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Last year, the expanded Child Tax Credit monthly payments put money back into the hands of American families when they needed it most, monthly bill time, and allowed families to choose how best to use it. New data proves how well it worked.

The new 2021 U.S. Census Supplemental Poverty Measure report shows that the 2021 Child Tax Credit (CTC) reduced child poverty by 46%. In one year, the expanded CTC pushed the child poverty rate to the lowest level ever measured.